At the present time, there are three different methods for calling up information over a mobile phone by SMS:
(1) Entry of precise parameters. With this method, the user must specify exactly the information which he has requested and provide authorization (e.g. with a PIN). Thus, if he wishes, for example, to query his account status, he must enter his account number, the data required (namely, the status of his account) and his PIN. In the case of complex or many parameters, this message can be very long; i.e., the number of keys to be pressed is very large.
(2) Entry of brief commands. With this method, the user must know a set of possible abbreviated commands. These brief commands are established by the information provider (e.g., bank) and are the same for all users. However, only the command itself is abbreviated. Account number and PIN still need to be entered.
(3) Individual brief commands. This method offers the user a very convenient way of calling up their information. For this, however, an individual list of commands must be made available to him by the information provider. In addition, the user must supply his mobile phone number to the information provider. This method can only be handled with difficulty on the part of the information provider since, with a large number of clients, a very large quantity of data has to be produced and managed. In addition, changes by the client (type of information, mobile phone number, etc.) to data that require updating can be expensive to implement.
Common to these above-mentioned methods is the fact that the user formulates an inquiry with the aid of an SMS message. This message is evaluated by the information provider and the information requested is sent to the mobile phone by means of one or more SMS messages. It is a disadvantage of this process that up to 4 keys must be pressed to allow a single letter to be printed.
European Offenlegungsschrift EP 0731 590 A2 describes a mobile telephone with a key pad with selection and radio keys and a display field, with further keys (soft keys) and optionally integrated transmit/receive devices (handheld) in the operating part.
One disadvantage of this proposed solution is that an additional device is required on the mobile phone for processing and sending messages in the sense that received messages to be confirmed with “Yes” are sent back to the sender by operating a soft-key button and a yes input with an additional confirmation. This invention is limited exclusively to YES/NO answers. It does not simplify the sending of complex messages. In addition, this method requires modification of the mobile phone.
The method described has either the disadvantage that it requires from the client very detailed and, hence, long entries or that it requires the client to know what can sometimes be a large set of short commands, which the information provider is able to manage only at very considerable expense.
The task of the present invention is to make available a new method for calling up user-specified information over a mobile phone which enables complex information to be called up by simple messages over the mobile phone without the necessity that the mobile phone itself be modified, without the need for the user to know any commands predetermined by the information provider and without requiring any additional management expenditure on the part of the information provider.